New authorities maps show practically all the West is in drought and it’s not even summer but: “That is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officers declared a water scarcity emergency and asked roughly 6 million residents to limit all out of doors watering to just once every week.  

"We knew climate change would stress our water provides and we have been getting ready for it however we didn't know it could happen this quick," mentioned Gloria Gray, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Administrators.  

The latest authorities maps show almost all of the West is in drought, and 95% of California is struggling severe or extreme drought.

"This is real. This is serious. This is unprecedented," said Adel Hagekhalil, normal supervisor for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

California is just not alone as reservoirs across the West are draining.  

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the nation shaped by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, wants a brand new pump to ensure water can move to Las Vegas. 

"The problem with local weather change is that it takes all the historic patterns and sort of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager advised CBS Information' Ben Tracy. 

Reager stated the West is in a 22-year megadrought, as climate change makes it hotter and drier. 

"We're simply starting to see the dominoes fall. It is drier, we're beginning to see much less water in our reservoirs, and we have now fires, and in California, there's simply this collection of penalties that we anticipate," stated Reager.